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Russell Westbrook has launched an AI startup inspired by the loss of a dear friend. Eazewell According to a news release shared with AFROTECH™, the Denver Nuggets guard joins Donnell Beverly Jr., a former NCAA National Champion at the University of Connecticut, and Kemba Walker, an NBA All-Star, as co-founders of Eazewell, an AI-enabled funeral planning platform. Westbrook’s inspiration for the company was the loss of Khelcey Barrs III, his best friend who died at 16. Beverly Jr., who had also been a friend of Barrs as well as experienced the loss of both parents, shared that through these difficult times he gained insight into the challenges families face with funeral planning and accessing resources. Eazewell is now working to close this gap through its platform, which leverages 24/7 autonomous AI agents and offers users personalized funeral home-matching based on quotes, location, and individual needs. The platform also automates paperwork for filing death certificates and...
Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. A recent study released by Lending Tree revealed that a lot of Americans are using buy now, pay later (BNPL) loans from companies like Klarna and Affirm to buy groceries (25%, up from 14% in 2024). As economic fears mount and uncertainty about the economy continues, people are turning to financing their everyday necessities. But using BNPL loan services is a mistake, especially for those who struggle with debt. BNPL is an interest-free loan, allowing consumers to split their purchase into smaller payments. For those who have an issue with credit cards or deal with debt, this could be an alternative. But if you begin making late payments, you can be charged high fees, which is a problem for those who have multiple loans. While the existence of BNPL loans isn’t necessarily a problem, how they’ve come to be used is concerning. Recently, DoorDash announced its plans to accept BNPL financing through...
A plan to empower Chicago, IL-based Black students is now being investigated by the federal government. According to ABC 7, Chicago Public Schools is being investigated by the Trump administration’s Department of Education — led by Linda E. McMahon — for allegedly using racial discrimination in its Black Students Success Plan. The plan is a five-year initiative that was announced during Black History Month 2025 to improve graduation rates and reduce suspensions for Black students, increase hiring of Black teachers, and “combat anti-Blackness” through its curriculums and professional development, notes Chalkbeat-Chicago. “Today’s action by the Trump Administration’s Department of Education, influenced by the right-wing group Defending Education, is yet another attempt to hinder the progress we are striving to achieve,” Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates commented in her statement, according to ABC 7. “Rather than using the Department to create opportunities for...
Christopher Gray has a word of advice for founders hoping to sell their companies. Path Gray is currently the CEO of Path, an affordable AI-powered platform for academic and career readiness. According to its LinkedIn page, Path offers unlimited practice tests, predictive scoring, and step-by-step solutions to support users preparing for career certifications, college admissions, and graduate school exams. “When this pandemonium happens where everyone’s freaking out because now I need to make a certain score or I need a pass or a certain score to make the SAT to graduate, now we can swoop in and be able to say, ‘We can give you that, make it more affordable. Predict what you’re going to make before you take the test,'” Gray said on the “Black Tech Green Money” podcast hosted by AFROTECH™ Brand Manager Will Lucas. Scholly Prior to focusing on Path, Gray served as the co-founder and CEO of Scholly Inc., an AI-powered college scholarship app on a mission to help students eliminate...
About 7.4 million Americans who depend on social security benefits through the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program will see two payments hit their accounts in May. It’s not extra money, but it is a significant shift to understand. The Social Security Administration’s (SSA) calendar is the reason for the double deposit, with June’s payment arriving early because the first of the month falls on a Sunday. According to USA Today, the first payment is scheduled for Thursday, May 1, and the second will follow on Friday, May 30. Even though two payments will land in the same month, beneficiaries need to know that the second check is an advance for June. Knowing how and why this happens can help millions who rely on social security benefits plan ahead and avoid gaps in their income. Why Two SSI Payments Are Coming In May Every so often, the SSA’s calendar shifts when regular payment dates fall on weekends or holidays. Instead of delaying deposits, the agency sends payments early....
Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. This week, former wrestling promoter and current Education Secretary Linda McMahon published an Op-Ed in the Wall Street Journal announcing the Trump administration’s plans to begin collecting on defaulted student loans. However, as we’re on the brink of experiencing a recession thanks to President Donald Trump’s trade war, this act runs the risk of contributing to an economic slowdown, according to ABC News. Beginning on May 5, around 5 million borrowers who have defaulted on their student loans will be sent to collections. When they are sent to collections, the federal government will seize federal tax refunds, even garnish wages and other forms of income to pay off the debt. Many borrowers cannot afford a student loan payment, which is why they defaulted in the first place. Federal loans also have high interest rates, which this current administration has shown no interest in lowering to...
The five-year pause is over. And for more than 5 million Americans, it’s about to get real. Starting May 5, the Department of Education will resume student loan debt collection for borrowers in default. These are individuals who haven’t made payments in at least 270 days. After years of pandemic-era relief dating back to 2020, the federal government is flipping the switch back on. This time, it’s bringing wage garnishments, seized tax refunds, and a wave of financial pressure with it. This isn’t just a policy shift for people already juggling rent, groceries, and gas; it’s a potential financial blow. The Government’s Warning Shot About Student Loan Debt ABC News reports that emails will go out to borrowers over the next two weeks. If you’re in default, you’ll be asked to either make a payment or enter a repayment plan. But if you don’t? The government has clarified that it will begin collecting through legal mechanisms like intercepting tax refunds , dipping into Social Security,...
A resource for minority-owned businesses may be impacted due to a new round of federal job cuts. Inc. reports new changes are underway at the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), which was first established in 1969 by former President Richard Nixon. Under former President Joe Biden’s administration alone, the MBDA helped provide 23,000 jobs and $3.2 billion in contracts to minority enterprises, the outlet notes. The Trump administration sent an email on April 17, 2025, stating that federal grants to the agency, which operated about 38 business centers, were being dismantled, as the administration believes the funding is “no longer consistent with the agency’s priorities and no longer serves the interest of the United States and the MBDA program.” President Donald Trump’s orders will be a drastic hit to many Black and other entrepreneurs of color. Louisiana’s business center, which worked with hundreds of businesses, was told the MBDA is “repurposing its funding allocations...
PepsiCo representatives met with civil rights leaders from the National Action Network (NAN) after Reverend Al Sharpton threatened to lead a boycott over the company’s decision to scale back parts of its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives . After sending a letter to the food and beverage brand on April 4, 2025, outlining details of the intended boycott, Sharpton issued a statement on Tuesday, April 15, saying that he and several members of NAN had a “constructive conversation” lasting over an hour with PepsiCo Chairman Ramon Laguarta and PepsiCo North America CEO Steven Williams. During the meeting at PepsiCo’s global headquarters in Purchase, NY, they had a chance “to discuss our grievances over reports they were rolling back nearly $500 million in DEI commitments .” “We agreed to follow up meetings within the next few days,” Sharpton wrote. “After that continued dialogue, NAN Chairman Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson and I, both former members of the company’s African...
The 170 million TikTok users in the U.S., according to NBC News, will have access to the app for at least another 75 days. Is TikTok Getting Banned Tomorrow? On Friday, April 4, 2024, President Donald Trump announced plans to sign an executive order giving ByteDance, the China-based owner of TikTok, an additional 75 days to find a non-Chinese buyer. “My Administration has been working very hard on a Deal to SAVE TIKTOK, and we have made tremendous progress,” Trump wrote in a TruthSocial post. “The Deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed, which is why I am signing an Executive Order to keep TikTok up and running for an additional 75 days.” On April 24, 2024, former President Joe Biden signed a law requiring ByteDance to sell the app to a U.S. company within one year or risk a ban, AFROTECH™ previously reported. Lawmakers and national security experts have expressed concerns over China’s potential access to ByteDance’s U.S. user data and its ability to...
Performance review season is underway for U.S. staff at TikTok and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance , with low-scoring employees being forced into a performance-improvement plan (PIP) or offered severance. TikTok conducts employee reviews twice a year, and last year, the company instructed managers to assign more low scores during the review cycles, according to Business Insider. Three current employees told the outlet that accepting a PIP instead of severance is uncommon because it is tough to succeed under a PIP. “They’ll PIP people, and then they’ll hire new people, and then they’ll continue this meat grinder of performance reviews,” one staffer said. The employees reported that the value of the offers varied, with one including a month of “garden leave,” where the employee remains on payroll without needing to work, and an additional one-month severance payout as part of a mutual separation agreement. A TikTok spokesperson confirmed that the company is implementing PIPs but...
Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. Peter Drucker, the Austrian management consultant whose writings helped shape modern management theory, once said, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” This quote aptly describes the impact of the U.S. Justice Department’s decision to delete the National Law Enforcement Accountability Database. Created under the Biden administration and initially proposed by Donald Trump during his first term, the database was designed to hold federal police accountable for infractions and prevent bad officers from moving between jobs without oversight. By maintaining a record accessible to hiring authorities, the system aimed to improve transparency and accountability. However, the U.S. Justice Department provided no rationale for why it was decommissioned. The reasoning behind this decision may lie in the leadership of the U.S. Justice Department. Pam Bondi, a former Trump’s campaign official and the...
Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, LA, in August 2005, wiping out 200,000 trees. While the city has faced challenges in restoring its tree canopy, efforts were underway thanks to a $75 million grant from the U.S. Forest Service to the Arbor Day Foundation that aimed to plant trees in neighborhoods without the resources to afford them, according to The Associated Press. However, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has, at least for now, terminated the funding to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order focused on banning diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts within the federal government. “Protecting the people and communities we serve, as well as the infrastructure, businesses, and resources they depend on to grow and thrive, remains a top priority for the USDA and the Forest Service,” the USDA said, per AP. Trees offer various benefits, including cleaning the air in polluted areas, capturing stormwater and replenishing groundwater, and providing shade...
Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. The heart of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is about creating equitable access to opportunities, but unfortunately we are seeing the ladder of opportunity be systematically pulled up ever since President Donald Trump started his second term. Once he was sworn in, a slew of companies in the private sector, including large tech companies like Amazon and Meta, rolled back their previous commitments to DEI, with some in the financial sector like banks JPMorgan Chase and Citi Group following suit. This focus on the rollback of DEI is not only impacting the private sector but the world of education as well. Through Critical Race Theory (CRT), which started as a legal topic back in the 1970s and 1980s at Harvard Law School, Derrick Bell argued that racism appears in policies, even when these policies seem neutral. He stated that they are not just on the individual level but are present institutionally...
Beatrice Dixon does not want to police how shoppers spend their dollars, but she acknowledges the risks of neglecting business owners on shelves. Dixon is the co-founder, CEO, and chief innovation officer of The Honey Pot Company, which is a plant-based feminine-care company that sells washes, wipes, and pads. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, she experienced chronic vaginal issues, which prompted her to create a vulva-safe formula that she grew into a business in 2014 with the support of a $21,000 loan. The company scaled to more than 33,000 stores across the nation, including retailers like Target, Walmart, CVS, and Walgreens. In January 2024, the company was acquired by Compass Diversified in a deal valued at $380 million. Dixon maintains a significant minority stake in the business. Part of The Honey Pot Company’s success can be attributed to its strong presence in retail stores. However, there is a shift among consumers to be more strategic about where they spend their dollars...